1. Technical Field
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for laundering contaminated clothing and for decontaminating in an environmentally contained, controlled, and safe facility.
2. Background of the Invention
The contamination of our living environment with hazardous materials and listed contaminants, e.g., such as asbestos and/or lead, silica dust, titanium dioxide dust, or carbon dust is a serious, but well known problem. The abatement, for instance, of the asbestos and/or lead, silica dust, titanium dioxide dust, or carbon dust contaminants from buildings of all types is a major undertaking costing billions of dollars every year.
During the abatement process for removing these and other contaminants, workers are required to wear protective clothing in addition to respirators equipped with HEPA (high efficiency particulate absolute) filter cartridges. This protective clothing must be disposed after use as contaminated material. Throw-away disposal aggravates another serious problem, i.e., the build-up of large quantities of contaminated solid waste, thereby increasing an already heavy burden imposed on landfills nationwide in addition to the cost of replacing the contaminated clothing.
Recycling has become a serious obligation of every citizen, and it is becoming law in many instances. Recycling by laundering the clothing used in the abatement projects for asbestos and lead, silica dust, titanium dioxide dust, or carbon dust could become a major contribution to the reduction of the solid waste problem, so long as the following protections are provided.
a. Safety procedures and facilities are included in the laundering process to protect the operator's health and to protect the surrounding atmosphere and water resources from contamination. PA1 b. Methods and facilities are in place to prevent the clothing from becoming re-contaminated within the work area of the laundering facility, after they have been laundered and before they leave the laundering facility. PA1 c. Any quantity of the contaminants found on the laundered suits, after they exit the laundering facility, is limited to insignificant levels or at most the maximum allowed by regulations. PA1 d. No waste water will be disposed through the sewer system which is not in compliance with EPA regulations for maximum allowable content for the above-mentioned contaminants.
Requirements to take waste water samples, exhaust air samples, containment area and cleaning fluid filtering area air samples, and their analyses arise because discharges are regulated from facilities with a potential for contaminating the nation's environments, including worker environments. Discharges are regulated by federal, state, and local agencies, e.g., such as by the EPA, OSHA, and others which have established regulations and standards and which police and enforce such regulations and standards for waste water and air discharges to the outdoor environment and to operator work areas.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel facilities and methods for laundering asbestos and/or lead, silica dust, titanium dioxide dust, or carbon dust contaminated clothing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel facilities and methods for laundering contaminated clothing and to provide safety devices, procedures, controls, and regular testings as an intrinsic part of the laundering process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide facilities and methods for decontaminating various types of woven and non-woven fabric, permeable and impermeable clothing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide novel facilities and methods for testing the clothing at regular predetermined intervals by an independent laboratory for contaminant content, prior to and after laundering, to provide the laundered clothing does not get re-contaminated within the laundering facility.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide novel facilities and methods for laundering contaminated clothing to protect the laundry operator's health and to protect the surrounding atmosphere from being contaminated with the listed contaminants from the laundering process.
A further object of the present invention is to provide novel facilities and methods for laundering asbestos and/or lead, silica dust, titanium dioxide dust, or carbon dust contaminated clothing including facilities and methods combining microprocessor-controlled washer technology with a containment-area-controlled environment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide novel facilities and methods for constant differential pressure monitoring and recording, for constant air monitoring, and for testing by an independent laboratory of both the containment area as a whole and the operator's breathing area in particular.
A further object of the present invention is to provide novel facilities and methods for the laundering facility not to require a wall between its washer and dryer areas because of its washer equipment technology and because of its environmental control, which directs the air flow in a manner that does not allow contaminated air to flow toward the dryer as provided by monitoring and testing methods and apparatus disclosed in the detailed description of the drawings and the preferred embodiment.
A further object of the present invention is to provide facilities and methods for laundering asbestos and/or lead, silica dust, titanium dioxide dust, or carbon dust contaminated clothing to decontaminate the clothing to provide a product that can be safely worn.
A further object of the present invention is to provide improved facilities and method for laundering asbestos and/or lead, silica dust, titanium dioxide dust, or carbon dust contaminated clothing, for decontaminating, and for filtering the contaminated waste water down to a contaminant content per liter acceptable under EPA regulations for disposal through the sewer system and further for reducing the contact between hot, contaminated waste water and containment area ambient air to an insignificant level.
A further object of the present invention is to provide novel facilities and methods capable of automatically sampling cleaning fluid, filtered waste water discharge, exhaust air discharged to the outside environment, and containment area air in the washer/dryer area and cleaning fluid filtering area.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.